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Have a PhD in History; but am currently unemployed, and have been underemployed and unemployed since receiving that doctorate degree.
Have traveled around the world and have lived in various cities across the world, mostly in Europe and in the Americas. Served four years in the US military as a non-combattant.

The terrible news stories never end. First, I read about a top state spy honcho, while representing a pro-citizen disarmament government, who shot his weapon’s laser sights at foreign visitors. Next, I glanced at some story about an irresponsible gun owner that allowed his gun to blast off as he was testing it in front of people. If he was lucky, then nobody ended up wounded or murdered. Sadly, this has not been the case from previous collected accounts of negligent discharges.

I have also perused news items about guys showing off their guns to their friends, forgetting that they had recently gone out shooting, and then messing around with their weapons while a live round was in the chamber. The stupid guy then murders his friend that was sitting right across from him. So many lives destroyed over some fool showing off his new weapon!

There are other stories about cops, and cop leaders, demonstrating the proper use of weapons, and then having them shoot off live bullets in front of a shocked audience. Sometimes, the round destroyed some inanimate object, while other times the cop gangers shot themselves with permanent consequences. For all of us that handle weapons, we all must repractice basic gun safety.

Guns are tools. But they are very specific tools. Guns are tools specific for extermination, whether at an old TV that only plays static, or against a rabid, four-legged animal ready for a meaty bite, or even against a human, a two-legged ‘animal’ ready to do some serious violence. We must all safely handle these tools of extermination, so that we do not destroy ourselves, our families, or our friends.

The first step for using any gun or any weapon is not shooting it live, or even disassembling it and then the reassembly. The first step before holding any weapon, is learning, memorizing, checking, and then constantly reviewing the basic gun safety rules. The alternative is just one negligent discharge within a few seconds that can horribly alter our human existence. In one fleeing moment we could destroy our lives and the lives of others.

The first safety rule is to treat all guns and weapons as if they had live rounds inside, meaning ‘loaded.’ This basic rule is not paranoia, but a safe way of always pointing the weapon in a direction where it will not hurt any living being or dangerous object, such as a closed gas canister, and at the same time, always checking the gun safety, releasing the magazine, (if there is one), and examining the chamber. Even if the gun has not been used for a long time, the owner has to do the same procedures. He or she has to make sure that the weapon points at an area that will cause the least amount damage, if the gun happens to discharge a round. Next, he or she has to perform the gun safety check: magazine check, (if there is a magazine inserted), and a chamber check to see if it is free of bullets.

Finding a safe area to point a weapon is hard. If you live above or below someone, then you cannot point the weapon at most surfaces, because almost all bullet rounds go through walls, doors, windows, floors and ceilings. Even pointing the gun at a regular old wall is dangerous because you just don’t know who there is on the outside, on the other side of the wall, or just standing around your place. The point of this lesson is that you never want a negligent discharge.

If you live in an urban environment, the sudden, loud ‘bang’ of a weapon firing is enough for a snitch, cowardly neighbor to call on the donut brigade. When the cops show up later at your door, good luck in not allowing the police gang to push you out of the doorway and then search your personal space. Cops always find some evidence for some crime. The police can then say that the gunshot gave them the probable cause. In some anti-gun Amerikan big cities, a civilian negligent discharge is an actual crime. This is one of the reasons some gun people live in out in the rural parts where guns are prevalent. Gunshots tend move in and out with the wild animal noises.

The second rule about pointing the weapon in a safe direction, also implies that we need to see the target and what is behind it. Since we consider all weapons loaded, we also need to handle and store our weapons in such a way that if a negligent discharge of a bullet does go off, the bullet will do the least amount of damage to the target right in front of it. After we check the gun’s chambers, with no magazine, (or an empty magazine), and the safety on, then we should lock the weapon and store it inside some container. We should place the container in such a way as to have the barrel facing a hard surface, and where there is usually no human contact or pressurized structures behind the surface.

We should never point the weapon at our faces or bodies in order to check for obstructions in the barrel. The gun owner has to do the safety check first, and then disassemble the weapon second. After cleaning and reassembly, the gun owner can then inspect for the barrel for obstructions. After reassembly, the gun owner can also check both the safety and trigger functions – not pulling the trigger itself.

This is the third rule. Never put the finger on the trigger unless you are ready to destroy something. The trigger mechanism is the final act for extermination. Once the owner pulls the trigger even slightly, it can never return back. The round will fire and then come the consequences. This is the reason that all guns come with trigger guards. Even the slightest pressure on the trigger can set it off. We should keep the trigger finger on the frame, and only put that finger on the trigger when all other options are not available in a combat situation. We are now ready to commit devastation. This mentality also implies that we are in the right mind.

The fourth rule is extremely important. Never handle a gun or any weapon while partying with friends, while anxious or mentally preoccupied, after imbibing some alcohol, and don’t even make the gun a common conversation piece for bragging rights, or just to talk about your day shooting with someone. It is better to keep quiet about your weapons, then letting your neighbors or acquaintances find out what you possess. When things get nasty in the Empire, that same neighbor or acquaintance may become the snitch narc that will turn you into the police. Talking about your gun to other people often moves into showing off your gun to other people. When drinking alcohol or mentally preoccupied, you will probably not do any safety checks. A fun get together between friends could turn into the most terrible act we could ever do.

In all my many years of handling weapons, hunting trips, military experience and plinking with friends, I have had one negligent discharge. Luckily, I was not hurt, and nor did I really blast anything important. But as they say, one mistake is one too many, and this is especially true with firearms. I learned my lesson because I startled myself and I felt an acute shock that I could commit such a mistake. I swore that I would never do such a negligent act ever again and I returned to the gun safety protocols. I am still a fanatic for firearm safety. That one embarrassing experience solidified the first and only rule with handling any weapons: safety, more safety, and even more safety.